Sermon Central
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Blessings Of The Grey Series
Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Feb 21, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: Often we neglect older persons and their importance in our life. The busy world makes us go away from God and parents and the elders. This sermon explains the importance of the grey and their blessings, also it exhorts the elders to make use of their days.
Blessings of the Grey
Introduction:
Children are beloved to Elders but children treat elders as a burden. The term senescence refers to the ageing process, including biological, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual changes. There are challenges to the caregivers during this period of life. Honour the elders (Leviticus 19:32)
Old people affected by all kinds of diseases, they are the owners of diabetes, BP, kidney and heart diseases. Above all, they are affected by a new disease known as Negligence of the younger generation. An old person wants good health, respect, economic independence and a peaceful farewell. They long for love, care and comfortable words. Spending time with elders at home delays your spending money and time at hospitals.
1. Planted in the house of the Lord (v. 13a).
What Marriage Teaches You
What Marriage Teaches You On their 50th wedding anniversary and during the banquet celebrating it, Susan was asked to give her friends a brief account of the benefits of a marriage of such long duration. "Tell us, Susan, just what is it you have learned from all those wonderful years with your husband?" Susan responds, "Well, I've learned that marriage is the best teacher of all. It teaches you loyalty, meekness, forbearance, self-restraint, forgiveness -- and a great many other qualities. However, all these wouldn't have needed if we would have stayed single."
The trees are symbolic of enduring, fertile and long life. These are planted, protected, nourished and awaited for fruits. They are fenced and cared for the lasting life. The psalmist puts the Cedar and Palm trees to explain the longevity in tune with tall and strong. Tree Methuselah is located between 2,900 and 3,000 m (9,500 and 9,800 ft) above sea level in the "Methuselah Grove" in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest within the Inyo National Forest of California of USA.
The palm tree is compared to righteous man by David but Solomon compared to a girl (Song of Solomon 7:6-7) "How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like a palm tree". Palm trees are constantly green and flourishing, spreads their branches very wide, and grows to a vast size, affording a most refreshing shade to travellers. Palm tree produces dates, a very sweet, luscious. therefore a fit emblem of the flourishing state of a righteous man.
The cedars in Lebanon are immensely large, being some of them thirty-five, or even forty feet in the girt, and thirty-seven yards in the spread of their boughs. They flourish for ages, and are always green; and, when cutting down, yield a most beautiful kind of wood, inclining to a brown colour, solid, durable and incorruptible. The young Christian is lovely, like a tree in the blossoms of spring: the aged Christian is valuable, like a tree in autumn, bending with ripe fruit. We, therefore, look for something superior in old disciples. His delight is in the law of the Lord. He meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither (Psalm. 1:3). Also, read Jeremiah 17:8 -a tree planted by the water and its roots sends out to the streams.
2. Flourish in the courts of our God (v. 12, 13.b)
Checked in:
One man went on tour and asked his wife to join the next day after her works are completed. He sent an email to his wife. Unfortunately, he missed a letter in his mail address. The mail reached to the woman who had lost her husband just a day before.
She opened the email and read the mail and she had was fainted.
It read: “Dearest Wife, Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow”.
- ACCEPT THE REALITY: “I am old” (Genesis 27:2 - Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Joshua - Joshua 23:2) Honor of the Grey (Proverbs 20:29)
- Worship with children (Exodus 10:9)
- Children’s children are crown of the Elders (Proverbs 17:6)
- PRAYER OF DAVID is found in Psalm 71:9. “do not cast me away when I am Old, do not forsake me when my strength is gone”.
- Even when I am old and grey, I will DECLARE THY POWER to next-generation (Psalm 71:18).
There was a man called Simeon. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:25-32). Prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old. She was a widow for 84 years. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and prayer (Luke 2:36-38).
3. Bearing fruit and being Fresh and green (v. 14)
Trees are compared to human life. Jesus himself used it symbolically saying that he was a living tree, vine. Prophets and judges used the trees and thorn bushes to the righteous and the wicked.